


Same time, different place

by Notquiteright



Series: It's a matter of perspective [2]
Category: The Maze Runner (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Background Sonya/Harriet - Freeform, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Newt Lives, Parallel shots of the same situations, Post-TDC, Thomas & OC friendship, and he also doesn't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 13:25:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14379582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notquiteright/pseuds/Notquiteright
Summary: The butterfly effect is a curious thing.In one timeline a girl died before he could save a boy.In another they lived.(Or a parallel shots of the same events in a world where Newt lived, versus one where he didn't)Set directly after Through another's eyes





	Same time, different place

**Author's Note:**

> The thought of "Newt only survived in my previous fic because Clara saved him... but what if Clara died before that?" just couldn't leave my head, and the angsty counterparts of my previously cheery headcanons began to bloom like an annoying weed infestation. Suffice to say the idea didn't leave me alone until I wrote it down.

“Soooooooo” a familiar voice drawls behind him, and Thomas involuntarily smiles. He knows who she is. And he knows why she is here. 

“Hello to you too, Alicia” he says as she unceremoniously plops down next to him. _Déjà vu_ he laughs inwardly, only the circumstances couldn’t be any more different. Then sadness and worry plagued him, but now here he is, having beaten all the odds. They got Minho back, and so many others. They actually _won_ , they are safe, finally. Back then he didn’t think it was possible. Now, it’s his life. 

“Come on Thomas. Don’t keep a girl waiting.” But of course that is _not_ the difference Alicia is interested in. He turns toward her, only to be met with raised eyebrows and a shit-eating grin. He groans (but he knows he’s smiling too). 

“Are you here to tell me you told me so?” 

“I _have_ actually told you so.” she retorts with an (entirely fake, the girl was trouble) innocent expression. “But nah. I guess I’m here to congratulate you” she starts frowning, obviously not pleased with how the words came out. 

“You make it sound like I’m getting married” he decides to poke fun at her for a change. Which, judging by the gleam in the girl’s eyes, seriously backfires. 

“You make it sound like you _weren’t_ married all this time.” Thomas is fighting a blush, because really how was he to know that they were that obvious to everyone? (All his friends reacted with a “finally” in one wording or another when they found out Thomas and Newt made it official. Hell, Vince was convinced they had been dating _already_.) 

“Shall I go tell your boyfriend that he should put a ring on it?” the remark snaps him out of his musings. Boyfriend. The fact that Newt is his _boyfriend_ never fails to make him feel warm and fuzzy all over. And it would’ve even now if…

If aforementioned boyfriend didn’t choose that exact moment to appear. 

“Hey Tommy” Newt greets him with a smile and Thomas (as per usual when in the presence of Newt) forgets the entire world. Which is a bad idea considering _who_ their companion is. 

“Don’t mind me. Go right ahead.” Alicia breaks the silence, and they both turn to look at her. She is smiling in that terrifying, mischievous way of hers and Thomas knows to be afraid. “I mean it’s _obvious_ you’d be making out like crazy by now if I wasn’t here. So go right ahead” They both stare at her. She just stands up with a grin. She dusts off her trousers and waves them goodbye. 

“Bye lovebirds!” she exclaims rather cheerfully. Newt just raises his eyebrows at Thomas. 

“Should I be worried about her?” 

“She’s always like this.” Thomas shrugs. 

“I’ll take that as a yes” 

 

There is movement on his left, and a very familiar shape sits down next to him. She doesn’t say a word and neither does he. He feels a sick sense of déjà vu from the time she tried to cheer him up before the big rescue attempt. When she kept alluding to him and Newt. 

His heart constricts because by the time he realized that there _is_ a him and Newt in the first place it was already too late. “If I don’t find you making out on the beach I’ll be seriously disappointed”. Wasn’t this what Alicia said? He looks at the waves lapping at his feet. The beach is here. Newt isn’t. 

“I’m sorry” Alicia says finally, her voice empty and hollow. 

“I’m sorry too” and she acknowledges it with a half-hearted smile. 

She used to smile so much. She doesn’t anymore. 

He doesn’t either. 

“I…” she breaks off, looks at Thomas and takes a deep breath. “I couldn’t even be there” she forces the words out. “She died somewhere, probably drained dry by WCKD and I couldn’t even… _I wasn’t even there_.” she starts crying mutely, and Thomas finally understands. 

She is doing the same thing as last time. Opening up her wounds to encourage him to talk. 

He is half-tempted to tell her that it isn’t much better actually being there. That seeing the one you love slowly be consumed by a deadly virus isn’t exactly a grace. 

That he dies a little bit each time he remembers Newt reaching for his gun. 

He would’ve let Newt tear him to pieces. If it came down to it, he would’ve let him. Rather him than Newt. 

But no. 

He didn’t even know about that knife. 

“I could’ve saved him” he mutters, reaching for Newt’s necklace. “I could have” he sees Newt again. Tommy, he breathes, and he falls. Thomas falls with him. 

_I would follow you anywhere._

But where he went Thomas couldn’t follow. 

“I’m sorry.” she repeats, the words raw with emotion. “I’m so sorry” 

He is too. Here they are. In paradise. 

It feels like hell. 

***

“I’m going to go mad” Dave face palms (he had a sudden urge to examine the table’s texture _closely_ and by _bashing his head repeatedly into the surface_ but he decided against it). When he looks up he sees some of the boys giving him sympathetic looks. It’s easy to bond over your agony due to your nauseatingly in love friends, as he found out in the course of few weeks. 

“Which one was it now?” Minho asks with a sigh and Dave buries his head in his hands again. 

“All of them.” he says, and his admission is met with a round of pitying murmurs. “First there was Sonya and Harriet, giving each other the heart-eyes, just like they do every second of every day. It’s really unnerving how long people can just _stare_ at each other.” 

“ _Then_ on my way here there was Ally and Clara, supposedly working, but in reality it was more Clara serenading her girlfriend with a positively _awful_ song, which I have absolutely zero idea where she heard.” he casts his gaze skyward, because the whole Alicia-Clara thing is made worse by the fact that they are his friends (for the moment. The jury is still out after what he witnessed). He can’t just _avoid_ them. 

“God, they are the worst.” he mutters. Minho fixes him with a skeptic look. As does basically every glader within hearing distance. Dave rolls his eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah I know. No need to come after me” he raises his hands in a mock surrender. “Nothing beats Newt and Thomas.” he groans. “You don’t have to remind me. Catching them sucking each other’s face off in the kitchen was a reminder enough, thank you very much.” 

(Dave swears he hears Frypan screaming out “NOT THE KITCHEN!” at that, before he runs off, possibly to give the two boys an earful) 

“They’re horrible” Minho shakes his head, but not without a hint of fondness. _Yes, they are_ , Dave thinks, _but we love them anyway_. 

 

For weeks Dave doesn’t leave Alicia’s side. Ever. You’d have to forcibly separate them. Possibly with a chainsaw (though it has been a while since he could trust Ally around sharp objects). 

Minho tries to be there for Thomas. He is struggling, but he knows his friend needs him. He has to stay strong for them both. 

There are times when they cling to each other. When they cry together. 

And there are times when Minho tries to pretend everything is fine. That he doesn’t feel the aching emptiness in his chest each time he makes a joke and it is not answered by a snarky remark. 

***

“You’re Tommy right?” Alicia hears an unfamiliar and distinctly feminine voice ask and she stops dead in her tracks. Last time that happened she was privy to a rather memorable scene and _hell yes_ she is curious what will happen now that the boys are no longer deep in denial. 

The girl appears totally oblivious to the fact that she has done something wrong. Thomas looks a tad uncomfortable but Newt… she is surprised to see that Newt - unlike on the previous occasion - isn’t glaring daggers at the girl. He did look a bit annoyed at first but - upon catching a glimpse of Thomas’ face - his expression settled on amused (which Alicia totally relates to, since their former leader is kind of a reminiscent of a fish at the moment and it’s _hilarious_ ). 

“I’m Thomas, yes.” he replies correcting her in a rather diplomatic way. The girl’s eyes widen with realization and she nods. Newt smirks lightly in the background, and Alicia thinks _that’s it_. 

That is what makes the difference. Because now they both know. 

Thomas is _Newt’s_ Tommy, and nobody else’s. 

 

“You’re Tommy right?” Alicia hears an unfamiliar voice ask and the blood freezes in her veins. She immediately stops and looks at Thomas with concern. The boy inhales sharply at the sound of the nickname and for a brief second looks so pained, so broken as if he’s just seen Newt die all over again, before trying to force a neutral expression on his face (it doesn’t work. The sadness keeps leaking from his eyes) 

“I’m Thomas, yes” he manages finally. The girl looks so guilty, but so confused at the same time. Alicia wants to punch her (even though she knows it’s not her fault) 

“Thomas!” she strides over there. “I need your help with something” she announces and all but drags him away from there. 

If she glares at the girl as they are leaving it’s no one’s business but her own. 

***

It’s their life now, she muses. Bonfires and celebrations. As she looks at Clara spinning around, and trying to tug a very reluctant Lindsay towards their designated dance floor she thinks she could get used to this. 

She clinks glasses with Thomas and spits out the contents immediately. 

“What was that?” she asks, utterly repulsed and possibly on the verge of vomiting (and the cruel boy _laughs_ at her) 

“Gally’s recipe” he replies and she eyes the beverage cautiously, like it could attack her at any moment. 

There is a beat of silence. She looks at the cheerful faces all around her and smiles. When she catches Thomas gazing at Newt (who is currently engaged in a deep conversation with Minho) with his trademark heart-eyes, her smile widens. 

“Guess who” a voice speaks from behind her, and Clara presses a kiss to her cheek. 

“It’s not much of a guessing game if you go on kissing me, kitten.” she teases. 

“Could be an innocent bystander molesting you darling. You never know.” she shrugs, grinning widely. Alicia laughs. “Dance with me?” Clara extends her hand and Alicia lets herself be dragged towards the fire. 

She would’ve turned back to wave goodbye to Thomas but (to no one’s surprise really), he was already making his way towards Newt. 

(And she’s also not surprised when a few minutes later she realizes they’ve run off. To a more private celebration she wagers. She almost laughs. _Typical_ ) 

 

People are celebrating. She practically feels the others’ happiness pulsing around her and it makes her feel sick. Maybe that’s why she sought out Thomas. Misery likes company, isn’t that what they say? 

She watches as Harriet leans down to kiss Sonya. She watches them dance, giving each other heart-eyes like they do _all the damn time_ and sometimes it makes her angry. 

Now she just feels empty. 

She looks at Thomas. Really looks. The boy seems to be much better now than he was a month ago. She sees him smile more often, and much more genuinely. It’s not alright, not by a long shot, but she’s glad Thomas has his support system. Through the fabric she rubs at inner side of her wrist and she is yet again amazed by the strength of the boy. 

She sees him trace the movement with a haunted look in his eyes that’s usually reserved for Newt related topics and she wonders: does it remind Thomas of Newt somehow? 

(Or does he simply _know_ what she did, what she still does?) 

“Do you think” she starts, her gaze fixed on the stars. “that we got it right in some other life?” for a long time Thomas doesn’t answer. 

“Yeah.” he answers a little breathlessly. “I think we did.” Alicia smiles a bit at that. 

Because in another life they got their happy ending. 

At the same time, in a different place they are happy. 

**Author's Note:**

> I was really debating whether to post this (as people tend to dislike OCs for obvious reasons), but I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading.


End file.
